


The Beginnings of a Plan

by Sunja



Series: The Alliance [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Dathomir (Star Wars), Found Family, Merrin is a cute little witch but also badass, planning a rebellion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23861947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunja/pseuds/Sunja
Summary: Rex, Ahsoka, Maul and Wolffe have hidden themselves away on Dathomir to wait until things settle a bit in the galaxy. They are, however, looking to make trouble once they have. An unlikely, well balanced team is formed and with it a plan to strike back at the empire and those who took everything from them.
Relationships: CC-3636 | Wolffe & Merrin, CT-7567 | Rex/Ahsoka Tano, Darth Maul & CC-3636 | Wolffe
Series: The Alliance [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1681474
Comments: 4
Kudos: 87





	1. Sticks and Stones

On Maul’s last supply run with Wolffe they had procured a vibro blade. A very nice sword. Wolffe had commented that it would make a less conspicuous replacement for a lightsaber. But Maul had other plans. He had seen Wolffe fight a few times now and he had a feeling, that with a blade the Clone would be a menace. Maul had begun to really enjoy Wolffe’s company some time ago. Tano and Rex never left each other’s sides and he couldn’t really blame them. But that had often left him and Wolffe alone together. First, they had just sat in silence. 

Then Wolffe had somehow procured a Sabacc deck. Sabacc was less fun with only two players, but Wolffe was interesting enough on his own to make it worth the while.

Maul refrained from using the force to read Wolffe’s mind, that would make winning too easy. Instead he concentrated on reading the Clone’s scarred face to see if he had a tell. Wolffe was good, but everyone had a tell. Wolffe’s was that he had to fight to suppress a smirk when he had a winning hand and a slight twitch in his brow when he was bluffing. 

Maul was sure he had a tell too, as Wolffe eventually began calling his bluffs pretty accurately as well. 

Once Sabacc had become boring, they had moved on to simply talking. Maul talked about Mandalore and the few loyal allies he had had there. Wolffe talked about his pack, his General, though he would say “his Jedi” the same way Maul has heard Jedi talk about their clones or commanders. It was distinctly possessive and showed the loyalty and respect Wolffe had had for his Jedi. Wolffe told him about how he escaped and lost his two brothers. Eventually Wolffe told him how he lost his eye, a lightsaber across the face, and how Rex had carried him back to safety.

Maul had started comparing Rex and Wolffe every now and then. Sure, apart from the eye and the hair, they looked the same, but Maul could easily tell how different they were. Rex was first and foremost a protector. He was always worried about their safety and supplies, about other Clones he hadn’t heard from and while he had a will like durasteel and a very sharp mind, Maul had a feeling that Rex would be happy to eventually settle down and just live a life where he didn’t have to worry anymore. 

Wolffe was different. He was more vicious when he fought, grinned while doing so and got restless when he didn’t get to punch things for a few days. Wolffe fought for fightings sake and Maul could very much relate to that. 

Which was why when they returned from the supply run where they had found the vibro blade he had left for a few hours to find some nice straight sticks to train with. 

As expected, when Maul returns to the hall that has become their living room, Rex and Tano have retired to their bedroom and if Maul tried he would most certainly be able to feel the pleasure coming from them through the force. 

Wolffe is sitting by the fire and studying a datapad. He looks up as Maul enters. “And where have you disappeared to?”

Maul smirks and raises the sticks. “Care for a fight, Commander?” He loves teasing Wolffe with his rank, it always gets him what he wants. 

Wolffe raises an eyebrow, but gets up. “I’m afraid I usually only fight with blasters or hand to hand.”

“I’ll teach you.”, Maul retorts easily. “Hitting people with something is much more satisfying then shooting them. I believe you’ll enjoy it.”

Wolffe smirks. It looks intimidating with his scar and missing eye. Maul likes it. 

Wolffe takes one of the sticks and Maul nods over to a larger clearer side of the room. Wolffe follows him over, testing the weight of the stick in his hand. “Why do you want to teach me?”, he asks. There is some caution in his voice. 

Maul shrugs. “I figured it would be better that you know what you’re doing with that vibroblade.”

Wolffe’s eye widens in surprise. “You want to give it to me?”

“Would you rather I give it to Rex?”, he teases. 

Wolffe chuckles. “You’re on.”

Maul moves into position and Wolffe pounces on him. 

An hour later, Wolffe falls on his back for the last time for this evening. Maul levels his stick at his throat. “Not bad for a first time. Tomorrow I’ll show you some techniques and katas.”

Wolffe is out of breath, but hums approvingly. Then in one quick move that Maul didn’t see coming Wolffe bats away the stick, slides over the ground until his legs can move around Mauls and with one quick scissoring motion, Maul loses his balance, tumbles and lands flat on his back. An instant later, Wolffe is on top of him with the stick that Maul dropped during his fall. “Surprise”, Wolffe purrs. 

Maul smirks. “That would never have worked if it had been a lightsaber at your throat.”

“But it wasn’t.” Wolffe is still grinning. “Or are you just a sore loser?”

Maul chuckles. “Playing with fire there, Wolffe.”

“Always.” Wolffe leans down even closer for a moment. “Wouldn’t have as much fun if I didn’t.”

And that, Maul can relate to. He grips the stick and pushes up until Wolffe gets the hint and gets to his feet. Maul jumps from lying on his back to a crouch just to show   
off. Wolffe just rolls his eyes with a smirk. 

They fall into a routine after this. In the evening, after Ahsoka and Rex have left to be alone, they train. They start with technique and end with fighting. After that first day Maul starts going easy less and less. Wolffe appreciates it. This way at least he gets an honest feeling of how well he is doing. 

A week in, he has more bruises than he can count. He hides them well, he is used to fighting while banged up after all, but he can’t deny that he could use a break. On the seventh day, when they have dinner, he reaches out to accept food from Ahsoka and can’t quite hold back a wince when some sore ribs protest the movement. Ahsoka narrows her eyes and Wolffe knows she’s going to question him about it later. Out the corner of his eye he also sees Maul watching. Neither says anything, so Wolffe doesn’t either. 

Only when they’ve finished eating and usually Maul and him wait for Ahsoka and Rex to leave, Maul gets up and goes to the next room where they left the sticks. Ahsoka raises an eyebrow at Wolffe questioningly. Wolffe is a little worried. He needs a break. He can’t keep going with this level of training and he definitely can’t do it in front of Rex and Ahsoka. 

But when Maul comes back, sticks in hand, he holds one out to Rex. 

“What…?”, asks Rex with confusion in his voice. 

“Wolffe needs a break, so today it’s your turn.” Maul explains. 

“My turn to do what?” Rex still sounds suspicious. 

“To learn.” Maul steps back and starts twirling his stick around his body, obviously showing off. Rex looks to Ahsoka, she shrugs, bud nods. So Rex gets to his feet and grips the stick with both hands. 

Maul moves into a standard ready position. “Stand how I stand.”, he tells Rex. Rex does and Maul goes on to correct a few small things. Then he goes back into position. 

“Now move as I move.” And so they begin with a kata. 

Wolffe and Ahsoka sit next to each other by the fire and watch. 

“So that’s what you two have been getting up to in the evenings.”, Ahsoka states after a while. 

Wolffe nods. “We found a vibroblade on the last run. Maul wants me to use it.”

Ahsoka smiles. “It’ll suit you.”

“He said the same thing.”

Ahsoka’s expression gets serious again. “He isn’t beating you up, is he?”

Wolffe chuckles. “Nothing worse than normal sparring. A few bruises here and there. But he’s right, I do need the break.”

Ahsoka smiles again and together they watch as Maul directs Rex through some techniques. Eventually, Maul raises his hand and motions with his fingers, the universal _come and get me_ gesture. 

Wolffe can see Rex narrow his eyes as he searches for a weakness in Maul’s defenses. But Maul is deliberately leaving himself open, it’s an invitation and a trap. Wolffe has learned better than to attack the obvious gap in the guard. Rex seems to realize it’s too easy to be true as well. He’s hesitating, calculating. He doesn’t know where to attack. 

Well. It’s not like Wolffe has ever even gotten close to beating Maul when he didn’t let him win, but he’s noticed a few things. Things like it’s apparently a lot harder to catch your balance on mechanical legs. Maul usually moves as if he had normal legs, but sometimes Wolffe has seen the difference. Even after all these years Maul isn’t completely used to it. 

So, in order to help a vod out, he calls out to Rex in mandalorian to go for the legs and get him off balance. 

Rex nods in thanks and makes his move. He strikes twice up top which Maul blocks easily, but then Rex uses the distraction to kick at one of Maul’s legs. For a moment, Maul is caught off guard and Rex attacks, tries to strike first Maul’s head, then his side. But Maul manages to duck under the first, block the second and before Rex can strike a third time Maul whacks his shoulder in a move that would have gone to his head in a real fight and moves away. 

“Not bad.” He raises his saber in a more normal defensive position, one that isn’t meant to bait. “Again.”

Maul beats Rex easily several times. Eventually, Rex lands on his back again and Ahsoka gets up from where she is sitting next to Wolffe. 

“I think it’s my turn.”, she whispers to him with a smirk. Wolffe grins. “Go get him!”

She walks along the side of the room, in the shadows, using the fight to get closer undetected. The next time the stick flies down to strike a winning blow she catches it with her hand. 

“My turn.”

Wolffe sits back as Rex hands Ahsoka his stick and comes to sit down beside him. “This will be interesting”, Wolffe comments. Rex grins. 

Ahsoka goes into one of her low, elegant, almost predatory attack positions. Wolffe sees Maul grip his saber more securely and moves into one of his standard poses. 

“Come on then, Lady Tano”, Maul baits again. He’s grinning and so is Ahsoka. 

“This will be a greater challenge than the troopers”, Maul says. “Even though you’re not a Jedi.”

“Well”, Ahsoka shoots back. “You’re only half a Sith.”

And with that she twirls the stick once and attacks. 

Wolffe and Rex watch in awe as the two of them fight. It’s beautiful, almost like a dance. Ahsoka jumps and twirls around, she throws kicks between her strikes and Maul’s saber can’t seem to touch her. Where Ahsoka is all speed and acrobatics with a sort of feline grace, Maul is steady strength, movements hard and efficient but just as elegant even when he moves and dances around with Ahsoka. He blocks her every strike and when she kicks he either takes it without so much as wincing, or one memorable time he catches her foot and throws her a few meters on the floor. 

Rex almost shoots up at that, but Wolffe grabs his shoulder and keeps him seated. Ahsoka can handle herself. 

As expected, she simply rolls back on her feet and raises her stick again. 

They fight for almost half an hour before they find a break in their fight where they are simply circling each other and sizing each other up again. 

“Well that was enlightening”, Wolffe calls out. “Let’s continues this some other time, shall we?”

Maul and Ahsoka look over to him, then at each other and lower their sticks. Ahsoka hands Maul hers and he floats them over to a corner with the force. It’s the first time   
Wolffe has seen him use it this way. 

Ahsoka wipes some sweat from her forehead as she flops down beside Rex. Maul sits down next to Wolffe and grabs some water. After he’s had a few gulps he hands it to Ahsoka. She nods in thanks and drinks as well. 

“That was impressive”, Wolffe comments. 

“Ts ts”, tuts Maul. “I’m sure Lady Tano doesn’t need your flattering, Wolffe, she already has a partner”, he says with a nod to Rex.

Wolffe keeps his voice dry as he can when he answers: “Who says it’s just her I want to flatter?”

Maul’s eyes widen in surprise and Rex starts coughing to hide his laughter. Ahsoka snickers. Wolffe keeps staring at Maul for a few more moments before he can’t stay   
serious anymore. He grins as well. “The fearsome Sith defeated by the power of compliments!”

Maul huffs in annoyance, but the corners of his mouth are twitching. He’s definitely hiding a smile. Wolffe moves to lie down and lays his head on Rex’s leg. One day he will make Maul smile for real. Seems like a good enough mission. 

“Really, Vod?”, Rex asks him. 

Wolffe shrugs. “You’ve always been a great pillow.”

Rex huffs, but gives in. He sits back and starts running his hand through Wolffe’s hair. This is nice, Wolffe thinks. He misses the way the Wolfpack would just pile on the floor together after hard missions. He knows Rex and the 501st used to do it too. It was apparently a widespread Clone tradition to do cuddle piles. It’s still too soon, but one day he will get the three of them to make a cuddle pile with him. For now, Rex’s leg will have to do.


	2. Scemes and Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone said they should recruit Ventress next. Well, Ventress is dead, but I've got the next best thing.

The next day, Wolffe decides that it’s time to explore. They’ve been here on Dathomir for weeks but apart from Maul they haven’t gone further than the first five rooms or so. Wolffe has seen from the outside, that they’re inside some kind of temple, a structure carved and built into and around a mountain. The way Maul and Ahsoka have been acting, it’s deserted. Wolffe isn’t really expecting trouble apart from maybe some wildlife, so he thinks it’s safe enough to explore. 

Maul is sitting by the fire when Wolffe comes in to collect his gear. 

“What are you up to?”, asks Maul. 

“I’m gonna look around for a while.”, Wolffe explains. 

Maul nods. “Be vigilant. Dathomir isn’t a very… hospitable place.”

Wolffe pads his blasters and the vibroblade that he’s decided to bring along. “I’ll be fine.”

Maul nods and goes back to meditating, or whatever he was doing.

Wolffe walks off through a tunnel and into the darkness of the temple. Maybe he should have thought about bringing some light, but it doesn’t really matter. His prosthetic eye can see in total darkness. General Plo not only saved him from being sent back to Kamino, he also bought him one of the best prosthetics he could find. 

So Wolffe walks on. He goes down several stairs and comes into a giant cavern. It’s impressive how someone built this into solid rock. The atmosphere is eerie. There is some light coming from some fluorescent moss here and there. There are statues lining the cavern walls and some weird organic things hanging from the ceiling. They look like cocoons. But their size… 

“Wouldn’t want to meet the bug that crawls out of those.”, Wolffe mutters to himself. His voice echoes silently through the tunnels. He keeps moving, trusting his training to find his way back later. 

The corridors stretch silently before him and while Wolffe feels a shiver run down his spine he isn’t deterred. He isn’t a Jedi, his bad feelings don’t mean anything. He’s just going to be careful and everything will be fine. There is probably nothing here that can kill him. 

It’s three more levels further down, that he finds the first body. It’s old, at least a few months, maybe a year. It’s the body of a woman, clad in red clothes. She’s wearing a hood and is clutching a plasma bow in her hands. She couldn’t have been older than twenty and she was shot in the back by a blaster. 

Something bad happened here. Suddenly, Wolffe is very sure of that. 

His suspicion is confirmed when only a few meters away he finds a second body of a woman and the destroyed remains of a super battle droid. Kriffin separatists. 

Wolffe moves on into the next big hall and what he finds are the remains of a bloodbath. So many dead bodies, all women, but not all have been fighters. There are some old ones and more horrifyingly some of children as well. And then, Wolffe finds the remains of a woman holding a baby. 

And fuck, he’s seen many horrible things in the war, but that… He can still see the fear in the mother’s eyes and the baby is so small, it couldn’t have been more than a year old. A little baby with tiny little horns… 

Wolffe covers his eyes and breathes before any tears can fall. 

“Look out!”, a high voice yells out of nowhere. 

Wolffe shoots up to a stand and pulls his blaster. Who was that? Is there anybody still here?

And then the words register and he turns, looking around. He sees nothing and thinks he might have imagined the voice, but then with a clicking something falls from above. 

Wolffe manages to roll away before it can fall on top of him and when he comes back to his feet he is faced with a gigantic spider. 

“Oh fuck.” Wolffe shoots twice at the head, but nothing really happens. And then the head raises and Wolffe lunges to the side as suddenly a green gooey ball of something hits where he’s just been standing. He’s got a feeling whatever that is should probably not touch him. 

He runs around the spider, shooting at it, but it doesn’t really do anything. It just seems to make it angry. But what else can he do?

The blade. 

Wolffe puts away the blaster and draws the vibroblade. Alright, let’s see if the training was good for anything. He’ll just need to get close. 

He waits for the spider to shoot its goo again, and with a roll doesn’t dodge to the side and instead rolls towards it. When he rolls back into a crouch he doesn’t hesitate and instead swings his sword in a great arch and cuts clean through one of the legs. 

The spider screeches in pain and Wolffe quickly jumps away again. So at least the sword works. 

Wolffe repeats his maneuver again: dodge, get close, cut off leg, get away. It works again and now the spider is tumbling, has clearly lost its balance and can’t walk with only half the legs on one side. After a few moments it falls on its belly and Wolffe sees his chance. He runs at it, jumps on its back and rams his sword into his head. A few more shudders and the creature goes limp. 

Wolffe sighs in relief. “That was close.” 

He cleans the sword and sheathes it. “Hello?” There was definitely someone there who had warned him. 

“Who are you?”, the voice asks. It sounds like a girl. A young girl. But still, there is no one there when Wolffe looks around. 

“Uhm… I’m Wolffe.”, he answers. “I’m not here to hurt you or anyone else.” 

He hesitates. “To be honest I didn’t know there was anyone still living here. I thought this was just a ruin.”

“Why did you come here?” She sounds somewhere between hopeful and accusing. 

“I and three friends, we’re in hiding. That is why we came here.”, he answers honestly. “We won’t harm you. We need any friend we can make.”

There is a long silence. Wolffe almost thinks whoever or whatever it was has disappeared. Then suddenly a green light appears in front of him. Wolffe jerks back and into a defensive position, even if he doesn’t reach for his weapons yet. 

The light retreats and in its place there is a girl. She’s young, no older than thirteen, if Wolffe had to guess. She’s wearing red robes like the bodies on the ground, with white skin and white hair and some tattoos in her young face. 

“Hey.”, he says. “I’m Wolffe.”

She stands there and stares at him. He notices she doesn’t have a weapon, but her hands are raised as if she’s going to do something with them. Wolffe raises his hands to show they’re empty. “Are you all alone here?”, he asks. 

She narrows her eyes. “Just because I’m alone doesn’t mean I need your help.”

“I wasn’t saying that.”, Wolffe assures. “I was just wondering if there are other survivors.” He gestures slowly at the carnage around them. 

The girl shakes her head and she looks like she’s going to cry. 

“What’s your name?”, Wolffe asks to distract her. 

She sniffles. “Merrin.”

“Hey, Merrin, good to meet you.” Wolffe holds out a hand to her. After a few moments, she takes it and they shake hands. 

“Are you hungry, Merrin?”, he asks. 

She nods. 

“Do you want to come back up with me to my friends? We have food and you won’t be alone anymore.”, he offers. “I promise nobody will hurt you.”

She hesitates, but after a few moments, she nods again. 

“Alright.” Wolffe starts walking back the way he came. Merrin stays close by his side. 

They walk in silence a few stairs back up and eventually Wolffe’s curiosity wins out. “How did you do that, back there? I couldn’t see you but I could hear your voice. And   
then you just appeared out of nowhere.”

Merrin looks up at him. “You don’t know what this place is, do you?”

Wolffe shakes his head. “Afraid not. Like I said, I thought it was just an old temple.”

“It was the city of the Nightsisters.”, the young girl explains. “We use magic.”

Well. Alright then. She said it with such finality, as if it explained everything perfectly and Wolffe feels like it would be almost disrespectful to ask more. Maybe Ahsoka or Maul will know more. 

The walk back doesn’t take as long as the walk down since Wolffe isn’t stopping to see the sights. They reach the correct level only half an hour later. 

“I’m back!”, announces Wolffe as he walks into the room where they keep their fire. “And I made a friend.”

Ahsoka, Rex and Maul look up from where they were studying a holochart. 

Wolffe notices Merrin is almost hiding behind him. 

“Hey, it’s okay.”, he tells her. “No one will hurt you.” 

He looks at the others. “These are my friends. The lovely lady is Ahsoka, the one who looks like me except less handsome is Rex, and the one with the scowl is Maul.”

Rex makes a rude gesture at him for that and Maul cracks a smirk. 

“Everyone, this is Merrin.”

Merrin hesitantly steps out from behind him and looks at his friends. When she really sees Maul her eyes widen. “You’re a Nightbrother!”

Maul sighs. “I was as a child. But I was taken away. I haven’t been here in a long time.”

However, Merrin has apparently decided that he must be trustworthy, as she now walks over to the fire more confidently and sits down next to Maul. Maul doesn’t really seem to know what to do, so Wolffe sits down on Merrin’s other side and hands her some food. She happily starts munching and Wolffe is glad he went exploring today. 

_Jesse and Kix are pointing blasters at him. “Good soldiers follow orders.”, Kix mutters._

_“Kix!”, Rex shouts. “You don’t have to do this, this isn’t you!”_

_“Good soldiers follow orders!”, Kix and Jesse chant it almost like a prayer. Jesse redirects his blaster at Ahsoka. “Kill the Jedi, kill the Jedi…”_

_And he starts shooting._

_“NO!”, Rex shouts, but Ahsoka is defending herself, deflecting both Jesse’s and Kix’s blaster bolts. But they’re in close quarters, she won’t be able to keep it up. The first blast gets past her guard but misses her, barely. Rex has to do something. And so he raises his blasters. He can’t do it. He can’t. He does it anyways._

With a gasp Rex shoots up. It’s not the first time in the last few weeks that this particular nightmare, this memory, has woken him. He used to dream about killing Skywalker, about killing Ahsoka. But those nightmares stopped when he removed the chip. Now he just dreams about memories. It doesn’t make it better. 

His dreams alternate between darkness, death and the mocking voice of General Krell and him killing Jesse and Kix. Sometimes he sees Fives, sometimes Echo and Fives are there when he kills Jesse and Kix. In those dreams he kills them too. Sometimes he kills Cody. 

Rex focuses on breathing slowly. These memories are in the past. He’s on Dathomir. Ahsoka has thankfully not awoken this time, she needs her sleep. She also has nightmares, but not tonight. Rex won’t wake her from a good night’s sleep. 

Silently, Rex gets to his feet. He hates just laying in the dark waiting to fall asleep to another nightmare. He’ll go see Wolffe. 

Rex sneaks through the dark corridors until he reaches the room Wolffe has decided to sleep in. But before he can enter, he hears a quiet voice. It’s Wolffe, he’s talking to someone. 

Rex peaks around the corner. Wolffe is lying there with Merrin curled up next to him. She’s awake and he’s talking to her quietly. Wolffe notices him standing there and motions for Rex to come over. 

Rex sits down on Wolffe’s other side and just listens to what Wolffe is saying. 

“...so I had to try and stop her. But she had the force and lightsabers. I threw everything I had at her, but she still got me.” Wolffe points at his eye. Merrin stares back wide eyed. 

“Anyway, General Fisto caught up and fought her, while Rex, here, dragged me back to safety.”

Rex smiles. It had been scary back then, to see his brother disorientated and with a burned and bleeding face, but compared to his other nightmares it hadn’t been so bad. Wolffe had lived after all, and he was still the hardened badass he had been back then. 

Merrin smiles shyly at Rex. Rex smiles back. She’s refreshingly adorable and it’s almost funny to see Wolffe, who always has been a bit of a hardass, so caring. 

Wolffe, now finished with his story, looks over at Rex. “You had a nightmare too?”

Rex nods. “Didn’t want to wake Ahsoka.”

Wolffe lifts one side of his blanket. “Get over here, vod’ika.”

Rex shuffles until he can cuddle up with Wolffe. Wolffe humms contently. “Alright, let’s just try to sleep for a bit more, hm? Just think of something nice, like all the amazing things we’re going to do now. They’re going to be sorry they ever crossed us.”

Rex chuckles and he can hear Merrin giggle as well. He closes his eyes. 

A few moments later, Wolffe starts quietly singing. Rex recognizes Vode An instantly. He smiles and thinks of the good old days, the early days in the war when all his brothers were still alive and killing clankers was fun and easy. He hopes Merrin finds nice things to think about as well. 

With that thought in mind, Rex slowly drifts off. 

He wakes the next morning when someone gently kisses his temple. Rex opens his eyes and it’s Ahsoka. She’s crouching next to them and smiling gently. 

“This is super adorable.”, she whispers. Rex looks at her and then to Wolffe and Merrin who are both still sleeping peacefully. Merrin is cuddling into Wolffe’s side and Wolffe has an arm slung protectively around her. Rex smiles as well. 

“Guess he’s found a new pup to take in.”, he whispers back and carefully moves to sit up. 

He follows Ahsoka back to the fire and they begin to make breakfast. Once the smell of food is floating through the air Maul and shortly after Wolffe and Merrin appear.   
Ahsoka floats portions over the way she usually does and Merrin’s eyes widen. 

Right. They hadn’t gotten to that part of the introductions yet.

“You can use the force?”, Merrin asks in awe. 

Ahsoka has also noticed her blunder. “Uh, yes. I was trained as a Jedi, but I’m not one anymore.”

“Jedi…”, Merrin mutters as if she’s trying to remember something. “Right, the light side users!”, she exclaims. “Cool, I’ve never met a light side user before.”

“Have you met someone who uses the dark side?”, Ahsoka asks carefully. She’s worried, of course. That massacre in the lower levels had to have been done by someone.   
Merrin nods. “Yes, Sister Asajj. She said she could use the dark side, but she also said it’s a hard path full of betrayal.”

Ventress… Rex looks over to Wolffe. His face is unreadable which means he’s definitely hiding some emotions. He must not have told Merrin who exactly it had been that had taken his eye. Ahsoka and Maul also have different emotions written on their faces. Maul looks annoyed, Rex remembers reading a report of Kenobi and Ventress having fought him and his ally together. And Ahsoka looks almost sad. Rex remembers how she talked about Ventress almost fondly when she had helped her back on Coruscant. And Rex knew of course, what had happened to her in the end. 

Merrin has noticed the sudden silence. “Did you know her?”

They all nod. 

“We… all have different history with her.”, Ahsoka begins. “Do you really want to know?”

Merrin hesitated, but nods. 

“Alright.”, Ahsoka begins. “I fought her once and my Master fought her several times. She killed some of our troops, some of them were my friends. But that was when she was working for Dooku. After he betrayed her and she left, she helped me when I was wrongfully accused of a crime.”

“I only met her once.” Maul takes over when Ahsoka falls silent. “She fought against me with one of my enemies. She fought well.”

Merrin looks over at Wolffe. He sighs. “She’s the one who took my eye.”

Merrin’s eyes widen. She stares for a few moments, then she hugs Wolffe tightly. Wolffe pets her head softly. “It’s okay. I lived and I hear she changed after she left Dooku.”  
Merrin lets go. “When she came here she was lonely, betrayed. She was a great fighter. I liked her. She probably died like everyone else. I never checked all the bodies.”

“She didn’t die here.”, Rex explains. “It was after what happened here that she fought Maul and helped Ahsoka. She returned to the light side from what I heard, but she was killed defending her lover.” That was how Kenobi had told the story to Cody, Skywalker and him. By the Force, Rex misses all of them. He knows Ahsoka does too. 

“Anyways”, Wolffe perks up again. “We’re now a well mixed group. An Ex-Jedi -” he nods at Ahsoka, “- a Sith -” he nods at Maul, “- two Clones and a young witch.”

Merrin grins. “I’m still learning. There are a lot of books in the library that I want to read so that I can practice.”

“I’ll go down there with you and carry them up here.”, Wolffe promises. 

“I also think it’s time to start making plans.”, Maul adds. “We have licked our wounds long enough, it’s time to decide how to take our revenge.”

“We need to look for survivors.”, Ahsoka starts. “Any Jedi will greatly help whatever resistance we can build.”

Rex wholeheartedly agrees. Maybe, maybe Skywalker or Kenobi are still alive. Maybe there is somebody else. And just maybe…

“We need to look for more Vode as well.”, Rex adds. “I want to look for Cody.”

Wolffe sighs. “Rex'ika… If he didn’t remove the chip in time, he won’t be Cody anymore. He’ll just be like a mindless droid.”

But Rex knows Wolffe is wrong. “You don’t understand. Our Vod’ika Tup killed a Jedi too soon because his chip malfunctioned. He only died because the chip was broken. Fives had his removed, you and I had ours removed and we’re fine. I think if we can remove the chip from Cody, we’ll have him back.”

“Well it can’t hurt to try.”, Wolffe agrees. He still doesn’t seem all that optimistic, but Rex refuses to give up hope. He knows Wolffe wants Cody back just as much as he does, he just doesn’t want to be disappointed. Rex would rather be disappointed than give up hope. 

“We can also try to contact friendlies and see if there are already the beginnings of a resistance forming.”, Ahsoka continues. “Senator Amidala, Senator Organa and Senator Mothma won’t be happy about the Empire. They’ve always been supportive of peace and they wanted to relieve the Chancellor of his extra powers.”

“There is also the Crimson Dawn.” Maul seems pensive. 

“The crime syndicate?”, Wolffe asks. Ahsoka and Maul share a look. Ahsoka doesn’t seem thrilled at the mention, but Maul looks almost gleeful. 

“I am technically still the leader of Crimson Dawn. I told them to go into hiding when you came to Mandalore. If I can contact them I can see to it that their operations target imperial systems more than others. If nothing else they can at least provide a distraction from our doings.”

This is so weird, Rex thinks. Here they are, a wild mix of beings, thrown together by circumstances and plotting a rebellion with the most contrasting methods possible. Ahsoka wants to seek allies and build a network. Rex wants to liberate brothers and recruit soldiers. And Maul wants to use a criminal empire to undermine the galactic one. 

This will be interesting. 

Rex has an idea. 

“Our greatest advantage is they don’t know we’re working together.” The beginnings of a plan are starting to form in his mind. “So we need to keep it that way. When we go out we go out as pairs, Ahsoka and I, Maul and Wolffe. We make our attacks seem unrelated. Maul, you contact Crimson Dawn, Ahsoka and I look for allies from the former republic. We use Dathomir as a hideout and meeting place, but we need to make sure there are other bases and that we can’t be followed here. This place can’t exist. We’ll need at least one more ship and we’ll need to find a few more people to build a base here with Merrin and whoever of us is here. And we need safe ways to communicate.”

Rex feels like someone just dumped the pieces of a puzzle in front of him. There is a way there to be found, he just needs to put the pieces in order. 

Merrin looks between them curiously. “This empire you talk about. Are they the ones who killed my sisters?”

“It’s not quite that simple.”, Ahsoka explains. “There was a war between the Republic where I, Rex and Wolffe are from and the Separatists. But there was a man who planned that war and who played both sides. He is responsible for all the death it caused. And that man is the Emperor of this Empire.”

“Then I will help you defeat him.”, Merrin declares. “If I can study the writings I can find ways to conceal this place. Scans won’t find it, eyes won’t see it. I can fortify it, so if it ever gets invaded it will be protected. But I will need people to help me.” She turns to Maul. “You need to come to the Nightbrothers with me. They are still alive and can do what I need them to do. If you become their leader, you can tell them to help me.”

“What do you need them to do?”, Maul asks. 

“I need them to help me bury my sisters, so that they can protect us in the future.” Merrin has a fierce determination in her eyes. They almost glow green. 

“How can dead people help us?”, Rex feels the need to ask. He likes the young witch’s sudden confidence, he has a feeling she will be a great ally. 

“Just because they’re dead doesn’t mean they can’t still fight.” Merrin says it as if that’s the most obvious thing in the world. “They just need to be preserved and a clever witch to wake them.”

“I have a feeling you’re more than clever enough.”, Wolffe says with a fond chuckle. Rex can’t help but agree. They all turn to Maul. 

“Very well then. Tomorrow we talk to the Nightbrothers.” He doesn’t seem particularly happy about it. Rex wonders how young Maul was when he was taken from this planet and what his life was like before that. 

“I’ll check the Holocharts and see if I can find us some long range communication centers we can infiltrate.”, Wolffe suggests. 

Ahsoka and Rex nod. There is anticipation there in all of them. Now that they have goals in mind Rex feels almost like he felt back before a mission in the war. Slightly   
nervous, but also glad to be doing something again. He can feel the old drive come back, the determination to see something through to the end. He can see Ahsoka is already calculating hin her head, Wolffe has his perpetual smirk that you can only see if you know him that he always gets when he sees a fight in his future. Maul seems calm, but Rex can tell he is also thinking, probably planning what to tell Crimson Dawn, hashing out details. Merrin is just giddy with excitement. 

Rex looks around at them and finds that they are off to a good start. This rebellion that they are planning will be a delicate task and a dangerous one, but if anyone can pull it off it’s probably them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Sith, a Jedi, two Clones and a Witch walk into a bar...
> 
> I am at the same time extremely proud of how well they somehow fit together but also laughing my ass off because this is super ridiculous. Like somehow I'm inching towards a Maul/Wolffe pairing and somehow they have all adopted Merrin as a daughter/little sister and now they're one big family off to destroy the empire.


End file.
